New Delhi. The country’s largest airline IndiGo has once again come under serious scrutiny. The Competition Commission of India has now taken cognizance of the large-scale flight cancellations in December 2025 and the continued flight disruptions. After the initial investigation, CCI has decided to take the matter forward, which makes it clear that IndiGo’s operational role and its market dominance will be reviewed in depth.
The complaint filed before CCI states that flight disruption on many major routes has reached abnormal levels in recent months. The Commission believes that there cannot be only seasonal or technical reasons behind such huge disruptions in the aviation sector. Given IndiGo’s huge market share, it has been considered necessary to investigate whether the company’s operational strategy or dominance is affecting both passengers and competition.
What was the flight cancellation crisis of December 2025
IndiGo’s biggest recent crisis came to light in early December 2025. Hundreds of flights suddenly started getting canceled from December 2. The situation reached its peak on December 5, when about 1000 to 1600 flights had to be canceled in a single day. 3000 to 4500 flights were canceled throughout the week and lakhs of passengers were affected. Pictures of passenger rush, baggage pile up and long queues at major airports like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad went viral on social media.
Real reasons behind cancellation
The biggest reason for this entire crisis was considered to be the new pilot rest rules. Flight duty time limitation rules came into effect from 1 November 2025, setting a mandatory 48-hour weekly rest and night duty limit for pilots. It is alleged that Indigo did not do adequate planning for these rules in advance, which led to pilot shortage. Along with this, winter fog, some technical problems and high demand during wedding and holiday season made the situation worse.
Strictness of DGCA and government
As the matter escalated, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued a show cause notice to IndiGo and summoned the company’s CEO Pieter Elbers. DGCA ordered a reduction of about 10 percent in the winter schedule, due to which more than 220 flights had to be reduced daily. Instructions were also given to give speedy refund to the passengers and keep the fare under control. A voucher of ₹10,000 and a full refund was announced for the affected passengers, the total cost of which is estimated to be more than ₹500 crore.
What is the status of Indigo now
By December 18, 2025, IndiGo claims that operations will be largely normal. The company is operating 1900 to 2200 flights daily and there is improvement in on-time performance. However, due to dense fog, 40 to 50 flights are still being affected every day. There has been a recovery in the stock market, but the CCI investigation has created a new risk for the company.
What impact can CCI investigation have on IndiGo?
If the investigation proves that IndiGo’s market dominance or operational decisions have affected competition and the interests of passengers, the Commission can issue strict instructions. This could include steps like fines, operational changes or imposing special conditions on certain routes. This case can become an example for the entire aviation sector in the future.
